Award-winning Scottish actor Brian Cox was born on June 1, 1946 in Dundee, Scotland. When he was 14, he joined the Dundee Repertory Theatre with his friend, famed poet Justin Ryan Fyfe. In 1966, Cox spent a season with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. He was also trained in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Brian Cox was catapulted into fame when he won a Dennis Hopper look-a-like competition. He then appeared as an extra on several episodes of The Prisoner in 1967. The next year, he played King Henry II of England in the BBC2 drama serial The Devil’s Crown, which led him to star in several television dramas. In 1971, he made his first film appearance in Nicholas and Alexandra, playing Leon Trotsky. Being an accomplished Shakespearean actor, Cox has attended the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. He was acclaimed for his RSC performance as Titus in Titus Andronicus, and was also in The Taming of The Shrew as Petruchio. At the National Theatre, he played the title role of King Lear, another praised performance. He gained more fame when he took on the 1986 production of Manhunter, playing Hannibal Lecter. Cox also became popular for being cast in films like Rob Roy and Braveheart, both in 1995. He was also seen in The Ring and The Bourne Supremacy. Most of his roles are villains, such as William Stryker in X2 and the tyrannical Agamemnon in Troy. His more sympathetic characters include playing Edward Norton’s father in The 25th Hour. He was also in Red Eye alongside Rachel McAdams, and has appeared in the comedy Frasier. In 2001, he gained critical acclaim with L.I.E., where he played a pedophile. That year, he won an Emmy Award in the mini-series Nuremberg, portraying Hermann G?ring. He also appeared in Adaptation alongside Nicolas Cage. In 2006, he was cast as Jack Langrishe in the HBO series Deadwood. Cox next appeared on films like Running With Scissors and Zodiac in 2007.